Porthcawl: Diksha Dagar had a rough finish on a day that began with rain and wind, but improved later on at the AIG Women’s Open. However, the Indian had to take on the tough weather as she shot 5-over 77. She had eight bogeys against three birdies as she finished the week at 6-over with rounds of 71-73-73-77 to tie for 46th place.
Diksha, the only Indian to make the Women’s Open this year, was making her second cut at the Major, which is the last one of the five for women each season. Diksha bogeyed the first and had four more in the first seven holes, and had only one birdie. She later had three bogeys and two birdies for a total of eight bogeys and three birdies.
In the LET Order of Merit, England’s Mimi Rhodes remains top of the leaderboard on 1,708.88 points, followed by Czechia’s Sara Kouskova on 1,473.71, and Singapore’s Shannon Tan in third on 1,419.95. Diksha Dagar is 12th on the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit.
Japan’s Miyu Yamashita captured her first major title in commanding fashion at the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl in Wales, earning a winner’s check of $1,462,500.
Entering the final round with a one-shot lead, the newly turned 24-year-old carded three birdies on the front nine and dropped her only shot of the day on the 17th, to seal the victory – capping off her birthday weekend in style.
This major title adds to her success on the LPGA of Japan Tour, where she already has 13 titles, and becomes the sixth major champion from Japan.
Before her breakthrough win, Yamashita’s best result in a major was a runner-up finish at the 2024 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Earlier this year, she placed T6 at the same event and most recently finished T14 at the Amundi Evian Championship.
A strong crowd turned out for the final day, braving a wet and windy start before the weather cleared in the afternoon. More than 47,000 fans have attended the five days of the Championship at Royal Porthcawl, making it the largest women’s sporting event ever in Wales.
England’s Charley Hull was two shots back on nine-under par in T2 alongside Japan’s Minami Katsu. Hull was right in contention until she made bogeys on 16 and 17, which made it a long way back for the four-time LET winner, who was chasing her first major title.
The four-time LET winner has come so close to winning before, with a runner-up in both the US Women’s Open and AIG Women’s Open in 2023.
Two shots further back were Japan’s Rio Takeda and South Korea’s A Lim Kim, who were both in a tie for fourth place, on seven-under par. Chinese Taipei’s Wei-Ling Hsu and America’s Megan Khang were both in a tie for sixth place, just a further shot back.
England’s Lottie Woad, who just before this tournament accepted LET membership, finished in T8, alongside Australia’s Steph Kyriacou and leading amateur Paula Martin Sampedro.
The players head to the PIF London Championship next week.
England’s Mimi Rhodes made an ace at the 5th hole, which marked the second hole-in-one of the week, following Australia’s Steph Kyriacou’s ace on the 8th hole on day two. Switzerland’s Chiara Tamburlini finished just outside the top 10 in T13 alongside five other players on two-under par.
(IANS)
